NorCalUrban

CUs NATIONWIDE COME TOGETHER TO OPEN CU BRANCH IN UNDERSERVED AREA OF EAST PALO ALTO Branch Is First Credit Union in Area Currently Served By One Community Bank, Several Check-Cashing and Payday Lending Establishments March 21, 2008 From coast to coast, several credit unions have banded together to help Community Trust Credit Union in Modesto, CA open up a branch in East Palo Alto. The community of more than 40,000 residents, mostly low-income and Latino, is currently served by one small community bank as well as a number of check-cashing and payday lending establishments. Many banks left the 2.5-square-mile city in the 1980s. On March 15, Community Trust Credit Union of East Palo Alto held its grand opening celebration with more than 150 members, community and credit unions leaders, residents, and legislative officials in attendance. Palo Alto, CA-based Stanford Federal Credit Union and Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union, and San Francisco-based Patelco Federal Credit Union joined u...

Here's a great quote from Gordon McDonald at the Leadership Journal website where he discusses some recent retooling the Starbuck's organization and how it relates to the way we 'do church'. Gordon States: I believe that the evangelical movement—in which I've invested my life—has been pretty much hijacked away from its original identity as Jesus-proclaimers and changed into a political movement. Ask any five people on the street what an evangelical is, and I bet four of them will offer a political (not a faith-based) answer. Remember: we are named by those who are not of us; we do not name ourselves. He goes on to state: Perhaps a door-closed session might provide an opportunity for us to ask ourselves if we are really caring about (and speaking into) the most important things that challenge our world and, close-in, our own society. I for one don't think so. Is it possible (to borrow a word-picture once ascribed to D.L. Moody) that we are too often haggling amo...

Dear NCUD Friends, Recap of Grand Opening Last Saturday we had a wonderful grand opening celebration. Many leaders, well wishers and friends from the East Palo Alto (EPA) and surrounding community attended. This included State Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, East Palo Alto Mayor Pat Foster, City Council members David Woods, Ruben Abrica and Pete Evans, members of the national, regional and local credit union community and church leaders from EPA and surrounding communities. We also had a special presentation of a flag that was flown over the Capitol in Washington D.C. from Congresswoman Anna Eshoo given to us by State Congressman Ira Ruskin. This was a wonderful, joyous celebration where we culminated over 3/1/2 years of work, planning, praying and organizing. I know many of our friends were able to stop by, thank you for celebrating with us. I will shortly post pictures of the event on our website at www.norcaludc.org. I have also attached an article that was in the Palo Alto Daily News las...

Here's a recent article about the credit union project. Our grand opening was yesterday - more updates to come... First credit union shows signs of success Plan aims at low-interest loans for East Palo Alto By Banks Albach / Daily News Staff Writer John Liotti has a vision for East Palo Alto, and it involves low-interest loans. With the support and help of several community members, Liotti last December launched Community Trust Credit Union, the city's first credit union. He's hoping that a combination of cheaper car loans and mortgages, eventual small business financing and an alternative to the expensive check cashing outlets in the city will help locals save and succeed financially. Liotti said the credit union can offer members car loans 5 to 10 percent lower than banks. The credit union will celebrate its grand opening today. "This community has been amazingly under-banked," Liotti said inside his credit union office on Bay Road. "Our goal is to move pe...

The Latin phrase, simil iustus et peccator , encapsulates how I've been feeling lately in my struggle to have good character. This is highlighted by the fall of NY governor Elliot Spitzer.  It means simultaneous saint and sinner . The  excellent article on the Sojourners website called "Latin Tattoos and 24 Hours of Televangelism" (by Nadia Bolz-Weber)  The article deals with the duality of life and the redemption of the Cross of Christ. We are all 100% sinners - but Christ's sacrifice (as Christian's believe) makes us righteous in His eyes, making us 100% saints. It's not a licence to sin -we all are called to live holy and righteous, but it speaks of the state of grace we live in when we are committed to Christ in spite of our failings. It also reminds us of our hopelessness without Christ's sacrifice. Appropriate thoughts during this Lenten and Easter season.  The article states: "The really liberating thing about this is that when we all come to t...

Go visit Sam's blog. He's been following in my footsteps and blogging again. We've been on a quest to find soup dumplings like the ones we ate in New York. Living in the Bay Area, with the large Chinese population we have here, you'd think we could find something similar. Our quest continues - but we recently came close at at place called Hu Chiang Dumpling House in Cupertino. Great soup dumplings, but still not as good as Joe's Shanghai in Chinatown, Manhattan.

I recently saw a great episode of Frontline called "Growing Up Online". To me, this is the natural extension of Jeremy Del Rio's "Mook's, Midriffs, Myspace and More" teaching. In the episode the narrator states that this is the most significant generation gap since rock and roll in the 60's. I agree that many parents don't get how addictive and important their kids online profiles are and will become. As I've heard some of the experts say lately, the next wave, even greater than the social networking sites, will be  virtual reality sites like Second Life where people can create an existence of their own design. Even Silicon Valley giants like Sun Microsystems have begun using Second Life for video conferencing. This shows the importance and usefulness of this type of program.  Sites like this blog are already passe to young people. They've left this form of expression to us old folks!  If you have kids, they certainly know about and most ...

We keep getting asked about providing bank accounts for undocumented. Here's an answer: "At least 200 (including Community Trust Credit Union) U.S. financial firms and other businesses accept an identification card called matricula consular, which is issued to Mexican nationals by Mexican consulates. More than 4 million immigrants carry the cards, according to the Mexican government and the Congressional Research Service. (Source: USA Today) The U.S. Treasury Dept. granted a victory to immigrants who use consular identity cards, as well as to the banks who serve them. Source: National Immigration Law Center .)

Found the website:  The Wittenburg Door. Back 'in the day' I used to read 'the Door' religiously. It's great Christian satire and commentary on modern eveangelicism. I laughed out loud reading the article on Obama called "Blessed are the Swishy" Here's what I've been listening to lately. I recommend all these records:  Echos, Silence Patience and Grace - Foo Fighters In Another Land - Larry Norman (RIP) Brighter Than Creation's Dark - Drive By Truckers Sirens of the Ditch - Jason Isbell In Rainbows - Radiohead The Fight of My Life - Kirk Franklin Magic - Bruce Springsteen Into the Wild - Eddie Vetter Went and saw "No Country for Old Men" last weekend. While it's bloody, it has a profound message. It's not for the faint of heart. I intererpret the movie as a statement about chance and choices. It's about the choices we make and how they impact the world around us. I've been thinking about it all week.  

Great article in the Palo Alto Daily News on the current leadership crisis in the non-profit sector.  Nonprofit organizations face an unprecedented challenge in recruiting and retaining the next generation of leaders, according to a sobering report released this week by CompassPoint Nonprofit Services in San Francisco. And unless it meets the challenge, virtually every sector of society will feel the effects, noted Linda Wood, senior program officer with the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, a San Francisco organization that three years ago began offering leadership development grants for nonprofits. "As a society, we are more and more dependent on the nonprofit sector to deliver services to have strong cultural organizations, to fight on behalf of people with respect to civil rights, to create strong and healthy communities, and even to educate our children," Wood said. Government is outsourcing more work to nonprofit organizations, said Jeanne Bell, executive director of Co...

Anne Lamott was interviews in the  Washington Times about her new book on grace. I may not always agree with her politics, but I love her writing and fresh perspective. The following are excerpts from an interview: Question : This is your third book on faith. How did you choose these particular stories for inclusion? Answer: They were really just the next batch that came along organically. I love being a little bit older. I really do think you grow up as you go. In "Grace," I am kind of dealing with the reality of who I am now and that I am probably not going to be too much different than this. And how I can be more graceful about handling the things I don't get. Q: How has your faith evolved during these past 20-25 years? How does your work reflect that? A: I didn't mean to become a Christian — my father hated Christians and especially Presbyterians. He was the son of Christian missionaries in Tokyo, and he just found them lacking a certain deep human quality. He...

One of our partners in San Francisco recently opened a new branch in partnership with Patelco Credit Union. Big congratulations to Salvador, Libby, Anita and their staff!  PATELCO AND MISSION SF FORM PARTNERSHIP TO ASSIST MISSION RESIDENTS Prominent Location Helps Expand Services to Unbanked and Youth Patelco Credit Union and Mission SF Federal Credit Union (formerly Mission Area Federal Credit Union) teamed up recently to open a new shared branch in San Francisco. The new office, which is located on the main cultural and commercial corridor of the Mission District, will house Mission SF FCU, its non-profit affiliate Mission SF Community Financial Center (formerly Mission Community Financial Assistance), and its Youth Credit Union Program. “This new office makes us more visible to the community so we can reach more people and help them with their financial situations. That is our mission—to help people,” said Salvador Durán, the Manager and CEO of Mission SF Federal Credit Union, an $...

Veteran Christian musician and artist Larry Norman passed away last Sunday. There is a short memorial on him on NPR.com. I can honestly say that along with the Bob Dylan Larry had a defining impact on me. As a child I remember listening to "The Great American Novel" (see the video below) and trying to make sense of the words. I can say that song has a direct connection to what I'm doing right now. It got me thinking about about justice and the state of things. The words of the song seem even more poignent today.   His last public statement from larrynorman.com states: I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home. My brother Charles is right, I won't be here much longer. I can't do anything about it. My heart is too weak. I want to say goodbye to everyone. In the past you have generously suppor...

Up late. Came home from the  One East Palo Alto board meeting a little wound up from the great discussions. Baseball season is starting! Whoo Hoo! Great news from the Yankee camp! The young pitchers are looking good! I love the start of baseball season - it's like all things are new again! Check out the great  Yankees blog, "Blogging the Bombers. by Daily News reporter Mark Feindsand It's great stuff!

San Francisco Chronicle reports: Immigrants in California are far less likely to land in prison than their U.S.-born counterparts, a finding that defies the perception that immigration and crime are connected, according to a study released Monday. Foreign-born residents make up 35 percent of the state's overall population, but only 17 percent of the adult prison population, according to the Public Policy Institute of California, which conducted the research. Noncitizen men from Mexico between the ages of 18 and 40, which the study indicated were more likely to be in the country illegally, were eight times less likely to be in a "correctional setting," the study found. The study did not address the visa status of those included among the foreign-born, which would include citizens and noncitizens, including those in the country legally and illegally. Nonetheless, these results have implications for the current debates over immigration policy, said Kristin Butcher, co-a...

I finally joined Kiva.org. I've been impressed with what they are doing - and the practical way they are getting micro enterprise funds out to developing nations. I'm excited to get some funds out to folks! Check this out also: Kiva's co-founder's blog. We're still planning / praying / researching on how we can adapt this model for use domestically. I hope to have a pilot project up and running in '09.

Boston Globe reports today the recent Pew study on  how  More Americans are Changing Religious Denominations. The report states: A sweeping new study of religious affiliation in the United States finds a country in which Protestants are becoming a minority, Catholicism is becoming heavily Hispanic, and the number of people who say they are not affiliated with any religion is growing. The study, which is the most comprehensive such examination in at least a half century, finds the United States to be in a period of unprecedented religious fluidity, in which 44 percent of American adults have left the denomination of their childhood for another denomination, another faith, or no faith at all. "Americans are not only changing jobs, changing locations, changing spouses, but they're also changing religions on a regular basis,'' said Luis E. Lugo, the director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which conducted the study. "We have nearly half the American pub...

Time reports on "Exposing the Credit Card Fine Print" To credit-card companies, it's not sufficient that customers pay their bills on time every month; they must also avoid a daunting array of borrowing habits that lenders deem risky. Like borrowing. Katie Groves, 42, learned this firsthand when the annual interest rate on her Chase Visa bill jumped to 29.99%—from the previous 12%. Although she had never missed a payment and owed only $500, she was told that her rate had increased because Chase had checked her credit report. Most consumers are unaware that the banks constantly monitor all their borrowing behavior. Even if you just get too close to your borrowing limit (a figure you probably don't know) on your cards and mortgages, as Groves did, you can trigger what the industry calls universal default. Interesting article. There seems to be little or no relief coming to our country. With the low income class being stretched by a lack of health insurance, falling wage...

NY Times asks the question did Hillary concede? Here's what she had to say...

OK - so it's small. Here's the details: Community Trust Credit Union Grand Opening Celebration Saturday March 15th 12:00 to 2:30 Ribbon Cutting at 1:00 PM Please come and join us!